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Sponsors for 2009
Gold:
•Abbotsford News
•Photoart by Simpson
Silver:
•Envision Financial
•Star FM
Bronze:
•Richard Friesen,
Remax Realtor
•Patricia Schmunk,
RMT
•Champagne & Lace
Bridal Centre
Friends:
•Sure Slim
Sponsors - in - Kind:
•Craig Carmichael
Photography
•Meadow Blossom
Flowers
•Framing & Art Centre
•ASM Printing
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2009 Nominees
for the Myrtle Evertt Woman of the Year Awards
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Library Technician, Fraser Valley Regional Library
Elspeth was born in Vancouver in 1954. Her parents were both professors with long successful careers. While Elspeth was young her family lived in Massachusetts and Pilani, India where her father taught at MIT and Birla Institute of Technology and Science. Elspeth graduated from high school in Vancouver where she started her career in literature at the Vancouver Public Library. She attended UBC and achieved her BA in English Literature in 1976.
Elspeth met and married her husband Dan Bowers and later moved to Mission in 1978. Here they started to develop their 10 acre farm by building houses, clearing the land and constructing a greenhouse business. In Mission, she began working for the Fraser Valley Regional Library in 1978. She became well known as the “Story Lady” at both the Abbotsford and Mission libraries.
Elspeth and her husband welcomed their son Michael in May of 1989 and chose to home school him until grade 10. Elspeth went back to work after Michael was born and her husband became the stay-at-home parent.
In the 1990’s they started and ran their greenhouse business from their farm where Elspeth created and sold planted hanging baskets.
Her husband Dan suffered a ten year battle with Cardiomyopathy and passed away in 2004. Elspeth also assisted her mother walk the long and frightening pathway through Alzheimer’s disease.
Elspeth is actively involved and has served as a board member on the Mission Literary Association who hosts the Riot of Reading Solutions since 2003. She has also held a series of story times out at the Le’q’amel Reserve east of Deroche.
In 2006, Elspeth trained as a Parent Child Mother Goose teacher which is designed to assist mothers facing challenges in their lives and teaches through songs, rhymes, games, and stories.
Recognized by Premier Gordon Campbell and Lieutenant Governor, Iona Campagnola with a BC Community Achievement Award, in spring of 2006. Elspeth continues to give back to her community. She is a member of the Mission Rotary Club holding the position of Literacy Specialist and a member of Mission’s first cell of the Revolutionary Knitting Circle, a group that includes a project which sends girls to school in Zimbabwe and most recently building playgrounds for children in Iraq.
Not one to sit back and relax, Elspeth is now enrolled in a Family Literacy Certificate course at VCC in Vancouver.
Her guiding philosophy “Diversity and Multiculturalism are a rich gift that our world gives us.” She has a vision of communities that are made up of individuals who are also parts of different smaller communities. The family is the most powerful “Community within a community”.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Mission Literacy Association
• Parent Child Mother Goose Teacher
• Riot of Reading Solutions
• Recipient of the BC Community Achievement Award – 2006
• Mission’s First Cell of Revolutionary Knitting Circle
• Board Member of the Mission Concert and Recital Society
• Member of the Mission Rotary Club – Literary Specialist
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City Councillor, City of Abbotsford
Growing up poor and surviving a violent crime in her youth, Patricia is a portrait of endurance and fortitude.
If you ever see Patricia Ross in action at a meeting where the environmental interests of Abbotsford and area are at stake, you’ll see that spark, that energy, that don’t mess with the locals attitude that has saved the Fraser Valley from potential environmental disasters, most notably SE2. Driven by a commitment to work together with her fellow residents, Patricia has rallied the troops and gone to the wall again and again in defence of what makes this valley such a special place.
Patricia has faced extraordinary challenges in her life and has overcome them and used them to cultivate a love of life and all things in it. She chose to be a leader. She chose to make herself more accessible, giving her time to the Fraser Valley.
Patricia wants to be the kind of person who “inspires others into action by being an example, by stepping up to the plate, not shying away from personal responsibility, by encouraging others to be their very best selves.”
Above all though, her family knows that if they need her, she will be there. Her husband and her daughter are the ones that help her recharge her batteries. It is only with their support that she is able to be effective in her job.
As a public servant, she has committed her life to her community. Patricia has approached all of her community and government work with a consistent guiding principle: to consider the environmental, social and economic impacts in all decision-making.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) International, Fellow
• Abbotsford Restorative Justice: Board Member
• Fraser Basin Council: Board Member
• Keep Canada Pure Foundation: Founder and Chair
• Valley Women’s Network:: Publicity Coordinator
• FVRD Environment Committee Chair
• Abbotsford/Mission Water & Sewer Commission: Board Member
• Environmental Advisory Committee: Board Member
• City of Abbotsford Solid Waste Committee
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Owner, Flair
Donna was raised in rural Saskatchewan where she became a partner in a grain farming operation for 18 years. In 1994, she diversified the farm and started a country vacation resort. As the owner of a tourism business, she set out to learn all that she could and became passionate about tourism as an industry.
When Donna and her four daughters moved to Abbotsford five years ago, she started working for Tourism Abbotsford and realized her dream coming true. One of Donna’s greatest challenges, in her relocation, was re-entering the work force and establishing her reputation and credibility in a community where she had no relationships and business contacts. She overcame this challenge by being true to herself, genuinely caring for people and delivering on what she said she would do which resulted in the creation of strong relationships based on mutual respect.
Donna has forged a broad inventory of successful programs and initiatives in BC. As the Manager of Sales and Marketing for Tourism Abbotsford she developed and delivered a broad diversity of destination programs and projects which advanced industry goals. As the Manager of Community Relations for the 2010 BC Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games Secretariat, she worked with communities throughout BC to promote the unique BC Stories and Explorer Program.
This past November, Donna started her own company called Flair with a desire to take her passion and expertise surrounding tourism to a broader audience. She is currently the Executive Director of a new destination marketing organization in White Rock and is working on the creation of a sport tourism strategy for Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Launched the Abbotsford Sport Town Canada Hosting Strategy
• Lead the creation of the Abbotsford and Regional Circle Farm Tour initiatives
• Created a strategy to secure financial support for the Abbotsford Travel Guide
• Developed a comprehensive capitalization plan for the BC Lions Training Camp
• Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce: Chair of the Agriculture Committee, Member of Tourism Committee
• Abbotsford Rotary Club: Member
• Community Futures South Fraser: Board Member
• Historic Downtown Abbotsford: Berry Beat Festival Committee
• Grandmothers to Grandmothers Abbotsford to Africa
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Professor, University of the Fraser Valley
Madeleine was raised by her Mother and Grandmother who encouraged her on to higher education. As money was not available for her studies, she worked at BC Tel in the evenings and went to school in the daytime for the duration of her BA. On weekends, she volunteered at CBC-TV in the newsroom updating the clipping files. This volunteer job led to a job offer in the newsroom upon Madeleine’s graduation for SFU in 1977.
When first son Karl was born in 1983, she became immobilized and was hospitalized for almost a year. It was during that time that Madeleine decided to go back to university to become a college teacher. She enjoyed teaching and knew that teaching would afford her the opportunity to be a hands-on parent. At the same time her one year old son was learning to walk, she too was learning to walk using two canes. True to her dream, she earned her MA from SFU and freelanced as a researcher and writer in the film industry while completing her studies. Her second son Jacob was born in 1986 and was blind at birth.
While raising her sons and working at what is now UFV, she became the guardian of a 15 year old girl, Chana, who had experienced a tough childhood. Her daughter by choice, Chana, is now working in the child protection field and is a fierce advocate for children at risk. Madeleine’s mother-in-law moved in, who suffered from dementia. It was Madeleine’s attitude of trying to find one thing every day, for which she is grateful, that helped her to get through these trying times in her life.
Having had three distinct careers; education, media and fundraising, Madeleine has converged these interests into new curriculum initiatives, advocacy, post-secondary governance, non-profit management, institutional transition, media ecology, international education and policy development.
Madeleine believes in volunteering and giving back to community. Her work in the non-profit sector as a fundraiser has allowed her to raise over $10 million for various projects.
Her greatest contribution is her role as a student advocate. She makes learning a relevant and positive experience. She readily mentors her students and ensures that they not only are successful in their coursework, but that they are successful in their careers. She is modest about her accomplishments, but her focus is not on herself; rather, it’s on helping others. Her knowledge, curiosity and generosity know no bounds.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Reach Art Gallery Museum: Board of Directors
• UFV Board: Governor
• UFV Senate: Vice Chair
• UFV Policy Review Committee: Chair
• Clayburn Village Community: Past President & Fundraiser
• Xa:ytem Longhouse Interpretative Centre: Member of Development Committee
• Big Brothers & Big Sisters: Board readiness for fundraising
• Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies and Research: Campaign Director
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Owner of Dundarave Communications Ltd
Maggie’s rise to success began in 1973 as a reporter in broadcasting. Her first story was one that women, who were assigned to cover “soft” topics only, had never attempted. The mining industry was dominated by males, but Maggie jumped in headfirst. Fortunately, her news director cut off the complaining CEO’s by saying, “if you want accurate coverage, Maggie is our choice.” Maggie, and her career, forged ahead.
After many years as a media employee, Maggie lost her job during the recession in 1982. Assessing her talents, experience and business contacts, Maggie determined that she could successfully win her own media contracts, and established Dundarave Communications Inc. She has always maintained the right to work on more than one project at a time, ensuring her company’s sustainability.
Some of Maggie’s business ventures include management for large events such as The Vancouver International Boat Show, The Vancouver Motorcycle Show, and The Spring & Garden Show. She is a researcher and advisor to a major Canadian developer, and keeps her hand in the media by writing a column for Black Press that is published in B.C. community papers.
In addition to her demanding career and many volunteer positions, Maggie’s passion lies with gardening. In 1998 she qualified as a Master Gardener, and enjoys developing and maintaining her organic gardens to provide a sustainable environment on her two rolling acres.
Maggie also puts her energy towards defending the rights of animals. As well as volunteer work in this area, Maggie enjoys the time she spends with her dog Friskie, and her four cats.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Director of Development, Skills Canada B.C.
• President and founder of the Fraser Valley Humane Society
• Chair of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee, Ferndale Minimum Security Institution
• Fundraiser for SAINTS: Senior Animals in Need Today Society
• Volunteer for the Burnaby Secure Youth Custody Centre
• Founder of the Ferndale Institution’s animal shelter
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Executive Director, Abbotsford Downtown Association
As a young teenager, Ingrid and her family immigrated from South America to Alberta. Fortunately, her first Canadian teacher spoke Ingrid’s native German tongue, so she was eased into learning English. However, Ingrid was forced to leave school after Grade 10 to help her family out financially.
She began working at a job making trailer windows, and then tried waitressing. Her parent’s comment that she “wouldn’t need to finish her education to be married and have children,” drove Ingrid to eventually complete high school. She then went on to college, and began a career in radio and television writing. Ingrid’s stint as the editor of a Calgary entertainment prompted her to co-author the book No Bull Guide to Dining in Calgary & Banff. From this position, Ingrid made the move to contracting to other media and special event organizations.
From 1993 to 2002, Ingrid held the position as the Retail & Small Business Development Coordinator for the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce. Her responsibilities included creating workshops and training sessions for business owners, and acted as the liaison with the city to promote collaboration.
Six years ago, Ingrid made the move to the Executive Director of the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association. Her roles include marketing and promoting Historic Downtown Abbotsford, and encouraging the growth and sustainability of the area by planning and implementing revitalization and redevelopment initiatives. With her committees, Ingrid produces the Berrybeat Festival, Bench Art project, Historic Downtown Abbotsford Art Walk, Celebrating our past - Heritage Week events, Jammin’ in Jubilee, Annual Santa and Holiday Workshops and Christmas Tree lighting. Her efforts were commended by Tourism Abbotsford when she was awarded the 2008 Tourism Partner Excellence award.
The volunteer spirit is alive and flourishing in Ingrid. She has served as a director on many boards for local not-for-profit and business organizations, and currently sits on the Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs committee, City of Abbotsford Mental Health and Addictions sub-committee, and is the co-chair of the City of Abbotsford 2010 Olympics LiveSite committee. She is also a member of the UFV - Abbotsford Community Council.
Ingrid is a proud step-mom and thrilled to be a grandma of four. She enjoys writing, reading and jogging and the arts, as well as seeking out antiques and other collectibles.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Fraser Valley Branch of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation past director
• Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce past director
• Crystal Gala Committee member
• 2006 BC Senior Games past Director of Protocol
• City of Abbotsford Arts & Heritage Advisory Committee past member
• Friends of Abbotsford Public Art -- founder & member
• Business Environmental Pledge Program past director
• Community Futures Development Corporation of South Fraser past Board director & chair of the Community Development Committee
• Mental Health & Addictions Working Group member
• Executive Officer of the Historic Downtown Abbotsford Car Show Society
• Abbotsford Farm & Country Market Society director
• Co-chair of the 2010 Olympics City of Abbotsford LiveSite Committee
• Recipient of Tourism Abbotsford’s 2008 Tourism Excellence Partner award
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Pastor/Volunteer
Arlene moved to Abbotsford with her husband, Ted (retired Prison Chaplin) in 1966. She and Ted raised their three children and are the proud grandparents to four grandchildren. With a Bachelor in Education (1958), Arlene set out on a career of teaching children in Kindergarten for the next 23 years. While in that capacity, she organized and facilitated the Kindergarten Association and served on the Executive of the Primary Teacher's Association. She also served on the Executive of the Abbotsford District Teacher's Association.
Arlene is a believer in life long learning - as evidenced by her return to University at the age of 51 to embark on a degree program in Pastoral Technology. She received her degree in 1997 and now she is Pastoral Care Coordinator in charge of outreach for Gladwin Heights United Church. Her duties involve officiating at weddings, funerals and memorial services. With her years of experience in caring for and counseling others, she lends her skills, compassion and kindness to those who are recovering alcoholics and addicts.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• Volunteer and Board Member - Peer Support for Seniors
• Volunteer, Board Member and Spiritual Care Associate - Abbotsford Hospice Society
• Member - Spiritual Care Advisory Committee, M.S.A. Hospital
• Volunteer/Member and Past Chair, University Women's Club
• Volunteer with Peardonville House for Women
• Member of Steering Committee - Abbotsford Go Go's - (supporting Grandmothers in Africa)
• Volunteer Pastoral Care Coordinator at Gladwin Heights United Church
• Volunteer co-coordinator of Community Outreach Programs: including,
• Breakfast Program at Chief Dan George School for 3 years
• Dinner program in conjunction with another local church
• Sandwich Program for Cyrus Youth Centre and Street Hope
• Served on Community Services Board of Directors
• Volunteer at Trinity United and Gladwin Heights United Church
• Past Volunteer and Chair of Church Council - Trinity Memorial Unity Church
• Past Volunteer - Sunday School Coordinator - Gladwin Heights United Church
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PAC President/previously Special Needs Teaching Assistant
Cynthia moved to Abbotsford four years ago - and as a busy mom of two children under seven - she rises to the challenges of PAC President. She loves her volunteer work at the school but took time away from her role as a Special Needs Teaching Assistant to raise her children and be an active volunteer. Cynthia has shown that even as a stay at home mother, she can still get involved and make a contribution to her community.
She has implemented Family Fun Night that not only provides a fun-filled night for the families at the school, but also raises funds for much needed equipment - such as: playground equipment, computers and Smartboards. She is at the forefront of all PAC activities which include Movie Nights, Hot Lunches, BC Fruit and Vegetable Program, Teach Appreciation Day and Kindergarten Registration Day Reception and Pancake Breakfast.
Advocating education and higher learning - she recently ran for School Board Trustee. While unsuccessful, the experience and her passion and support of education has motivated her to become a community voice at the School Board meetings within Abbotsford and other Lower Mainland communities.
Cynthia has a passion for children and that is why she became an assistant basketball coach for Friday night basketball and a volunteer with Special Olympics as the Volunteer Supporters Coordinator.
Cynthia faced challenges in the school system as a young student. In Grade 8 she was assessed by an educational psychologist as being learning disabled and not expected to complete the high school diploma. They tried to put her in a class for the “special” kids but she would not go. She went on to University and completed her Masters Degree in Education.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Brock University, St. Catherines Ontario - Bachelors of Arts Degree - psychology/child studies
• Langara College - Early Childhood Education Certificate
• University of Victoria, Masters Degree in Education - early childhood education
• Masters Thesis - University of Victoria - Full-time Childcare and Outdoor Play - A Snapshot of Children's Experiences
• Special Education Teaching Assistant - Vancouver School Board
• Early Childhood Education Instructor - Century College
• Recreation and Life Skills Instructor - Developmental Disabilities Association
• Volunteer Coach - Basketball - Track and Field - Cross-Country running
• Volunteer Supporters Coordinator B.C. Special Olympics
• Completed the Vancouver International Half Marathon
• Volunteer - School Planning Committee
• Volunteer - Chariperson for the Prince Charles Elementary School PAC
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Congratulations to all of our amazing nominees for 2009!
Please see the 2009 Ceremonies for winners and pictures of this wonderful event.
Requesting a Nomination Package
To nominate an outstanding woman in Mission or Abbotsford, please see about nomination information. We would be pleased to send you further information and/or a nomination package through regular or email.
All photos are copyright of the original artist at photoart by simpson,
a division of Clearbrook Photographic Arts Inc, and are used by permission.
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The Business & Professional Women's Club of Abbotsford
c/o 101 - 2001 McCallum Road, Abbotsford, BC, V2S 3N5
bpwabbotsford@gmail.com
Updated June 28 2010.
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